Unfortunately (for several reasons), I have a dentist appointment
tomorrow (Wed, 16th) at 2:30 in Centralia, so I may not be able to make
Burt Guttman's 7:00 talk at the University Bookstore, but I would
encourage those who can to get there. My daughter-in-law (and birding
mentor) and I both bought copies of his book in San Diego earlier this
summer. She leads bird walks and so forth and has garnered some good
ideas for use in her work with beginning birders, she tells me.

I discovered Sunday at Nisqually Wildlife Refuge just how much I've
learned from the book. This was my first visit to the Refuge, and I was
impressed with the willow groves and the river views, particularly. We
heard many birds in the willow groves which was a beautiful experience
by itself, and we saw more than we could identify, but we did spot a few
Townsend Warblers and even a Pacific-slope Flycatcher who sat on a limb
nearby and puzzled us until he began to speak! But the most exciting
for me were the ducks since I have never been able to identify anything
but Mallards and Canadian Geese in the past! This time, we also saw
Wood Ducks and, later, a Common Merganser on a log in the river with
three youngsters. While we watched, she took them onto the river and
caught a fish, and all three youngsters immediately dove too!

Other birds that were abundant, easy to spot, and common there, I
suspect, since no one was getting excited about seeing them were:

-Cedar Waxwings
-Barn and Tree Swallows
-Bald Eagles
-Band-tailed Pigeons
-Red-winged blackbirds
-Robins, and
-many Cowbirds

Darlene Sybert